Vampire Dragons are members of the undead. They sustain themselves by drinking the blood of others. It is said that they are only “alive” at night, and seem dead or asleep during the day, as they cannot endure sunlight for long periods of time. Vampire Dragons can only reproduce by changing the eggs of other dragons, puncturing the shell with their fangs and injecting venom that kills the baby inside.

Dragons are highly-intelligent reptilian creatures that—from a human perspective, at least—appear to live forever. Many different varieties of dragon exist, each with their own unique qualities, habitats, and behavior. Adolescence in dragons is usually marked by the growth of a hatchling’s wings, although not all breeds of dragons grow wings and some breeds have other traits that indicate the beginning of maturation. In Galsreim, dragons and humans coexist peacefully.

At night, the Breedery is quiet. The nocturnal dragons awaken one by one as the afternoon lengthens, slipping away to hunt or gather food once the sunset has died. By full dark, all the diurnal dragons are asleep in their personal cave-lairs. (Except for Gilderstane, who patrols the populated caverns and the stony hallways between them every four hours.) Sanguinarius Rex loves those quiet hours. Then and only then does the vampire feel safe to emerge from his catacombs deep beneath the relatively shallow cavern network inhabited by the Breedery. Arrogant but prudent, he sees other dragon types the same way a human does cattle, but knows his existence depends on their tolerance (or ignorance) of his presence. Lurhstaap knows about him, but allows him to be there, in exchange for setting strict rules of behavior. Anxious not to wear out his welcome, Rex does his best to stay out of sight. He resists the urge to feed on Breedery dragons or bite Breedery eggs. It's hard sometimes though.